The Life Chef

HOW TO LIVE BEFORE YOU DIE! 15MINS OF LIQUID GOLD!

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:59:33 +0000

KEN ROBINSON – INSPIRING, FUNNY, VIDEO ON CREATIVITY, CHILDREN & THE FUTURE…MUST WATCH!

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:37:03 +0000

DOES YOU CAREER MAKE YOU FEEL ALIVE?

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:26:20 +0000

Career Coaching

Sunday just gone I ran a workshop titled Life Chef Recipes for a Crackling Career, it was a fantastic day with a lovely group of intelligent, hardworking individuals, all looking to find more fulfillment in their working life.

When I asked the group attending my career coaching workshop how many of them felt satisfied, alive or strong within the role they performed at work or at the end of their working day. Not one single person put their hand up.

I then rephrased the question and asked how many of them felt fulfilled, strong or alive approximately 80% of the time in their chosen career or place of work. Nothing….

Oh dear I thought, ok stay optimistic and let’s drop this to 70%, still no one….. 60%, one hand went up!

“Ok how many of you fell alive, or satisfied within your chosen career / work approximately 50% of the time,” 40% of the room put their hand up…ok we are are getting somewhere, I thought.

Once again I rephrased the questions, “How many of you feel weak, unfulfilled and drained at the end of most working days?”The remaining 60% put their hands up.

Ah ha I thought, I had started too positively..so I asked .”How many of you feel unfulfilled, drained and or weak at the mere thought of going into work?” the same 60% put their hand up.

Why is it that so many people feel weak or unhappy at work, do we go into our careers with too high an expectation, are we expecting our career to fill us up in ways that are not possible, or are we simply failing to listen to the clues life leaves us?

Many people who come to me for career coaching recognise that they are highly skilled for their jobs or perform their roles incredibly well, however if you asked them if they felt passionate or invigorated about the tasks they perform on a day to day basis most would say no, not at all.

The problem is we are taught and often assessed on the basis that our strengths are what we are good at and our weaknesses are are what we are bad at. Work with your strengths and focus on improving your weaknesses. WRONG!! Your strengths are not just about what you are good at a strength should be based on what makes you feel stronger and alive when you carry out that activity.

So my question to you is what makes you feel alive, what gives you strength, what aspects of your previous jobs or career paths did you enjoy the most? Pay attention to what is going on within your work, that will tell you what direction you need to be headed in?

Trust me, every time I have sat down with my clients and looked at what makes them feel strong and alive and what weakens them we come up with some amazing realisations. We then reconfigure how they spend their time, eliminating many of the weak tasks as possible and increasing the strong tasks/ roles within their life and career. By then end of our short time together it is amazing how differently they behave and feel, and how they suddenly start to flourish both with their work life and private life.

Finding your authentic strengths within the work you do does not neccessarily mean you have to quit your job or turn your life upside down, on several occassions it has involved going into an organisation and looking at how they are maximising their teams strengths and weaknesses.

RECOMMENDED READING BOOK REVIEW, MARCUS BUCKINGHAM – FIND YOUR STRONGEST LIFE

(Mainly aimed at women, but is ok for men as well, if you look past that)

If you want to identify your strengths, find out what makes you come alive and discover where you maybe need to pay more attention then I would definitely suggest you pick up a copy of Marcus Buckingham’s book Find your strongest life, (ISBN 978-1-4002-8078-0).

I love reading and not a day goes by when I don’t have a book or two, three sometimes 6 in my handbag at any one go! However there is only one book I have been pulling out of my handbag the last 3 days, between my client appointments. Marcus’s book has definitely hit my top 10 when it comes to career coaching and finding your true path.

His obvious passion for finding out what makes people strong, and clearing up any myths based on gender and ability definitely resonates with me. Finding your strengths and living a strong life is something I have been consciously paying attention to for the last 15 years and working with my clients on for the last 10 years so I know this works. Great book, easy read and don’t forget to do the strong life test at www.StrongLifeTest.com

Alternatively if you would like a FREE 30 minute Career Coaching session to look at where you are headed, what makes you strong or weak and how to feel alive and on track with your career, please feel free to call me on 020 3239 9338 or email me at office@thelifechef.com

Until next time

With love from

The life Chef

(Cooking up a storm in the Universal Kitchen!)

Mary x

CONFIDENCE

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:03:42 +0000

CONFIDENCE: a slippery so-and-so, wouldn’t you say? One minute it’s here & the next it seems to have vanished into thin air, leaving behind a quivering wreck battling on alone and pretending to the world we have a plan, when in truth we are unsure of what, when and how to move forward.

For some of us confidence appears only in certain settings, for example when we are sure of ourself, our surroundings and when the acceptance of others is guaranteed.

For others it seems to come and go like the wind, taunting us with the possibilities of success and happiness, gently whispering ‘if only’.

….If only you had the confidence to speak up, then everything would be so very different,

….If only I had the guts to ask him or her out, then maybe I could finally find love and settle down,

….If only I were confident enough to hand in my notice, then I could finally start my own business…

….If only I had more confidence…..

When I looked up the definition of confidence it read ‘trust in a person or thing; a belief in one’s own ability; trust or a trustful relationship’.

So when we say we lack confidence what we are actually saying is that we lack trust – trust in the outcome, trust that we will be accepted and not rejected, trust in knowing that we will succeed, trust in knowing that we are not making a big mistake, trust in knowing that we have the skills and knowledge, trust that the other person will love us no matter what.

On FEBRUARY 21ST at 12pm – 5pm, I invite you to join me in The Dermalogica Studio Kensington as I explore the power behind trust, confidence, fear, being authentic and how by befriending your fears, and learning new strategies to trust in yourself and the people around you amazing things can start to happen.

I will be doing all this in my capacity as The Life Chef – cooking up a proverbial storm to help you create your own unique recipe for super boosting your confidence. I’ll not only tickle your taste buds but will send you into sensory overdrive when it comes to matters of confidence , authenticity and simply creating a life to suit your own unique taste buds! An experience not to be missed! So if you want to make 2010 your best year ever and let go of those ‘what if’s’, and book your place by calling 0203 239 9338 NOW! OR Email office@thelifechef.com.

POWERFUL WORDS!

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:31:48 +0000

THE POWER OF WORDS Words are like knives, a blunt knife can be very ineffective, however if sharpened can be a great tool, ONLY if used correctly, if in the wrong hands can cause a great deal of harm.

Think about the words you use, around your friends and family and most importantly to yourself.

Have you ever been in a situation when you said something about somebody and then regretted it later?
Have you ever gossiped or talked about someone behind their back?
Have you ever put yourself or another person down, lashed out in anger?

Think back to how you felt afterwards, happy or guilty,light or heavy?

The intention/ meaning behind any word carries a certain energy, it’s own frequency, one which can pull you down or lift you up.

Flipping it the other way………

Have you ever said a kind word to a stranger and seen how it lights up their face
Have you said well done to a young child and seen them walk away with their chest puffed out like a cockatoo
Have you ever said I love you to someone special and seen how it has transformed both theirs and your energy….

So the next time you go to blurt something out or chastise a child, pay close attention to the words you use, what type of energy are you putting out there. What sort of vibration will your presence make…..will the ripple affects be sweet or sour?

With love from The Life Chef Kitchen! x

SIMPLY GRUB – MY BUTTER BEAN & CORIANDER HUMMUS

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:30:54 +0000

Look out for my new dip, Butter Bean and Coriander Hummus! Recipe under the Simply Grub page!

With love from The Life Chef Kitchen! x

INSPIRING VIDEO – GO GET IT!

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:35:34 +0000

NEED I SAY MORE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAKE YOUR DREAMS HAPPEN!

Infinite Possibilities

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:51:00 +0000

After a delightful evening with Deepak Chopra a few weeks ago it got me thinking about infinite possibilities….if we are the universe, the sun, the stars and the moon, why do we feel so limited in our thoughts, about what we can achieve and how we live our lives?

After watching ‘ What the Bleep’ for the third time I am really working on what I focus on. As a person who naturally feels blessed most of the time, and is fully aware of the power of intention, I always looking at ways to raise my conscious awareness so I don’t keep slipping into that limiting human train of thought, something I can truly say rarely happens these days.

For some this might seem spiritual mumbo jumbo, and that’s fine, we are all entitled to our own opinion and if it doesn’t strike a chord that’s ok? However make sure you are not discarding this information because you feel uncomfortable with the concept that you are greater than you are, that you are capable of infinite possibilities, and that it’s not too late to go for your dreams.

How different would you life be if you were told from birth by EVERYONE that you met that you were a powerful, magnificent human being, full of unlimited possibilities. What if you heard that message every single day of your life, would you be doing what you are doing now? Hmmmm the power of words

DAILY BREAD

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:11:27 +0000

If you are looking for daily bites of inspiration why not follow my Daily Bread twitters, they are fun, meaningful and nourishing, enough to get you through the day with a smile!

Send me a tweet if you like, and let me know how your day has gone!

All the best
The life chef Kitchen! x

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING STILL

admin — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:33:57 +0000

Importance of Stillness

Yesterday for the first time in 5 weeks I was sitting in traffic, waiting to cut across the Kings Road into town. What had happened?? For the last 4 weeks I had blissfully cruised down New Kings Road, turned left onto Fulham road and headed towards 44 Portland Place, via Brompton Road and Hyde Park without a care in the world. Thirty minutes tops!

Today I had thankfully allowed just under an hour for my journey and between you and me even that was touch and go. Forget about the leaves and the drop in temperature, Kings Road rush hour had returned, Summer was truly over!

September is a month that definitely signifies change, in every sense of the word. The obvious being the change in season, summer evenings slightly chillier, the leaves getting browner, and sun with it’s almost softer golden glow.

With summer holidays drawing to an end, parents frantically running around fitting rooms sorting out new school uniforms for their young ones; excited children looking forward to seeing their friends, sharing stories of their summer adventures, or loafing around either way many longing for the end of July to return.

Nervous teenagers filled with trepidation about their journey into the unknown, new peers, high school cliques, fitting in, tougher teachers, high expectations , increased workloads and the dreaded exams!! With new jobs, new homes and an slightly warmer wardrobe, September definitely symbolises the end of day dreaming, summer cocktails, chilling out in the park, summer holidays, romances and taking it easy for no other reasons then it being summer.

For some September signifies the birth of cold commutes, buses brimming with teenagers, central heating, facing reality, and four by four rush hour! However it needn’t be that way…….

THE LIFE CHEF RECIPE FOR A SIZZLING SEPTEMBER

Before you get sucked into the manic movements of Autumn, the demanding pressures of work, the drop off, pick up schedules of the children, take some time out to be still, go back to that time this summer when you felt truly at peace, the most restful you have ever been. Now close your eyes imagine the warm sun on your face, hear the sound of the sea gently caressing the golden sand, and remember that whilst change can be both positive and necessary, being still and taking a moment to connect with your self is essential! For it is in that place of calm and stillness that the true beauty of change can be seen and enjoyed!

With love from The Life Chef x